Questions And Links

Best Septic Tank Cleaning

Questions and Links

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Why does Best Septic require someone to meet us at the site?

Well, the official reason is because the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality monitors the waste we remove from your site, and they require your signature on our NonHazardous Waste Control Ticket. But really, we want you there so that we can give you the best service possible. If you are not handy, we have no way of going inside and flushing your toilets to make certain the line between the building and the tank has cleared. Also, our field personnel have years of experience and can offer you suggestions that are specific to your system. If you SEE what they are talking about, the suggestions are easier to remember.

Do you take maintenance contracts?

NO. We clean tanks only. If you have an aerobic system requiring a maintenance contract, please see the list at the bottom of this page for our recommendations.

"WHERE DOES MY SLUDGE GO?" It depends on what company you use. If you ever see a truck dumping it's load into a drainage ditch along a county road, that is an illegal dumping: call the sheriff's department immediately! Some companies get to their customer's faster because of this illegal action [when caught, they could get a fine large enough to put them out of business as well as incurring a prison term--but they take that risk and get your business before we can do it legally]. We have a state registered transfer station that holds your sludge until it can be transported to a state registered land application site [except for commercial grease trap waste, which we haul straight into Houston to a state registered waste plant]. All of this costs us a lot of money--but we want to keep our customers happy so we don't overcharge them either. Bottom line: Ask your disposal company what they are going to do with your sludge. By having Best Septic come out to your place you can be assured that the disposal will take place in the most environmentally friendly manner possible, and that's healthy for our community too!

Why can't Best Septic come out the same day that I call?

Sometimes we can, it just depends on our schedule. But this is getting to be a very busy world--there are lines of people and cars everywhere. A few years ago, Mr. Heath broke his leg, tearing many ligaments and tendons in the knee at the same time. It took ten very painful days for the medical system to work its magic and get him into surgery! We know waiting is frustrating. We understand your needs. If you have sludge backing up into your house, we WILL move your need to the top of our list.

We want to be on your team...

So please watch your children and pets. We do not want them to stumble into an open tank, walk behind a moving truck, or [as in the case of small animals] get sucked up by our hose. Also, if you have a dog that bites, Please put it up before we get there. Safety is everyone's responsibility.

Payment methods:

Best Septic takes cash, checks, and money orders. We're sorry, but we can no longer afford to take credit cards or installments. We do understand the need, and apologise for any inconvenience.

Why didn't anyone answer the phone when I called? Sorry, we're human and aren't always available to answer. Someone will return your call IF YOU LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. No, our answering machine does not record the number you called from.

WHY DID MY TANK FILL WITH WATER AGAIN AS SOON AS YOU LEFT?
IF you have a conventional system [no sprinklers] AND your tanks filled with water again right after we left, there can be several reasons. Please read the field-notes given to you at the time of the job, our Tip-Sheet, and the HOW A SEPTIC SYSTEM WORKS page.

Basically, those of us living in the Fort Bend County area are cursed with the combinations of: -1- poor absorption in the soil; -2- a low/flat landscape that contributes to poor drainage; & -3- an abundance of roots that like growing into our fieldlines. If your system is in hydraulic overload [flooded] then just pumping it out will not solve the problem immediately. You, as the person who lives on that property, are responsible for improving the drainage from your system. This means bringing in extra dirt so the area over your fieldlines ceases to pond [just make sure the equipment bringing the dirt in is not heavy or you can crush the lines beneath]. Also, dig ditches away from your drainfield so the water draining out of your fieldlines can leave your drainfield instead of sitting there collecting mosquitoes. If there is water standing over your fieldlines during &/or after your system is cleaned, then it WILL fall back into the system once the empty space is created. That is because the bottom of your tank is lower than your fieldlines and water seeks the lowest places. If you don’t understand how a septic system works, please read HOW A SEPTIC SYSTEM WORKS page. The best solution for this problem is to increase the drainage away from the system [as stated above], decrease the amount of water going into the system [next paragraph], and wait for time to dry the system out. If this doesn’t work, you may need a new septic system.

The second part of getting the hydraulic overload problem solved is to decrease the amount of water leaving your house. Read the field notes our personnel left with you. Does it say you might have a leak coming from your house? If it does, you need to track this leak down immediately. Leaks can refill a system within days. Commodes are the most common culprit and you may not hear or see them leaking. The best way to find a leak on a commode is to do a dye-test [see Tip-Sheet for instructions]. Other contributors to leaks from the house can be water-well softener system drains or air-conditioner drains. We even had one customer who drained the rain-water off his roof into his septic system, and another customer drained swimming pool spillage into the septic. Laundry is also a problem, especially if you do a lot of loads back-to-back. If at all possible, get your laundry water plumbed to the last tank of your system. This has several benefits. If you read HOW A SEPTIC SYSTEM WORKS, you’ll see that the best performing systems are those in which the solids remain in the first tank as long as possible to improve breakdown. People who do a lot of laundry are pushing those solids forward through their system too fast and solids that don’t break down get into the field lines [or if you have an aerobic or LPD system, into the pump chamber] where damage to the system can occur. Also, many people put bleach in their laundry and bleach kills bacteria. Septic systems work best when their bacteria are healthy—good germs break the solids down, dead germs can’t do that. So, by rerouting your laundry water to the last tank of your system, you are improving your system’s performance.

If you have a system in hydraulic overload [flooded] it will fill again with water as soon as it is cleaned. Does this mean you shouldn’t have had it cleaned in the first place? That depends on how long it’s been since the last cleaning, the size of the system, HOW it is being used, and how many people are using it [call our office if you have questions specific to your system: 281-342-9891]. Bottom line: help the system dry out, and if that doesn’t work, then you probably need a new system. We have phone numbers of several installers if you need them.

BEST SEPTIC ONLY CLEANS TANKS—SYSTEM FUNCTION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER. In other words: read the field notes given to you at the time of the job, read the tip-sheet as well. Just cleaning the system may not solve your problem—something else might need doing too. For example: if your field notes say “excessive plastic debris” and you have a pump, then there’s a chance those plastics could burn up your pump—stop putting plastics into your system [tampon applicators, etc.] [Old &/or ill-used pumps can fail at any time—repairs and replacements are the responsibility of the user.] Another example we see a lot is leaking commodes. If the field notes say to address this, please take it seriously. You may not see or hear a leak—do a dye-test TODAY [see Tip-Sheet for instructions]. Leaks coming from the house can fill a system in one week easily, especially if your field lines are already saturated. Read the rest of this page for more system tips. Best Septic will willingly help you problem-solve your system, but you have to help yourself too. Best Septic is only responsible for cleaning tanks—system function is your responsibility.

LINKS:

We do not take commission on any recommendations--we only recommend businesses that we would use ourselves. Many businesses in this area do not have websites, so we provide phone numbers here instead.

AEROBIC SYSTEM INSTALLERS & MAINTAINERS:

"Red Vaselka" Alton's Aerobic Wastewater--repairs and maintains Cajun Aire, Norweco, and Southern [does not install]. Needville area. 281-341-6961; 832-595-4357

AAA Wastewater/Mark Chaffin--installation of aerobic systems. Maintains Clearstream, Hydroaction, Jet, Southern, Cajun Aire, SingleAir, & Hoot septic systems in Wallis & surrounding area. Call 936-672-0927

Freddie Price Construction--maintains & installs Norweco, Jet, and Hydrocaction, septic systems, and repairs old conventional systems in Wallis and surrounding area. Call 713-557-6604

Sure Flow Septic/Troy Ross--maintains Clearstream, Hydroaction, Jet, Southern, & Hoot septic systems in Katy and surrounding area. Call 281-395-2555

Jaynes Brothers Construction--maintains & installs Hoot and Jet septic systems in Richmond and surrounding area. Call 281-633-0303

In Brazoria County: call Coastal Aerobic Systems [Dean & Geraldine White] at 979-798-7678 for maintenance & installation of Clearstream, Whitewater, Nayadic, Hydro-Action, Multi-Flo, Southern, Cajun Aire, Norweco, Jet, & Hoot brands of aerobic systems.

Aero-Septic Maintenance--installs & maintains multiple brands [Cypress] 281-351-9681

CONCRETE SEPTIC TANKS AND LIDS can be purchased from Wallis Concrete: 979-478-6734

PLUMBERS:

In Richmond and surrounding area--Harp's Plumbing 281-342-8972

In Katy and surrounding area--Hamm's Plumbing 281-392-7410

Bob's Plumbing [Katy] 281-392-3876 [jet washing & minor repairs]

In Needville and surrounding area--

Phil's Plumbing 979-793-4146; and

Billy's Plumbing 281-342-9486

Halbison Plumbing [installs & repairs septic systems][Brookshire] 281-391-7600

Doug Turner Plumbing [Sugar Land] 281-980-9300

Blue Jay Plumbing [Fairchild] 979-793-7838

Best Septic Tank Cleaning 281-342-9891

Rosenberg, TX